Description

Seal Rock is one of the most visible Flatirons from Boulder with its distinctive yellow-and-orange north face. High on the south side of Bear Canyon, this rock offers east-face classics, sporty trad/headpoint climbing, and (as of 2013) two sport routes on its radically overhanging south face. There is also one sport route, the three pitch Sea of Joy on the north face, and a scary trad proposition, Archaeopteryx.

Getting There

Follow the Mesa Trail south from NCAR, passing the two sharp switchbacks that enclose the Bongo Boulder en route to the top of Radio Tower hill. Fifty yards past the turn-off for the Bear Canyon Trail, which heads west into the canyon, notice a small trail cutting up and right (west) into the trees. This unsigned trail is the Harmon Cave Trail, which takes you past the gated-up Harmon Cave and switchbacks up a steep hill to the south en route to the base of Seal Rock. Stay left for the south face routes or go right to reach Archaeopteryx and Sea of Joy on the north face.

Getting Off

Addendum: There are at least 3 ways to get off this crag from the summit. 1) You can downclimb Shortcut, 5.4. 2) You can do a 50m rappel Sea of Joy's anchor bolts (40 feet East of the summit) on the North face. Note, the rope can get stuck on the pull. 3) Supposedly, you can downclimb 40 feet to the West, then go down a ramp to the Southeast, and then rap 135 feet from an eyebolt.

Some clarification on the approach: as you walk south from the Bear Canyon turnoff it is easy to overlook the Harmon Cave trail. If you reach the Fern Canyon turnoff (also to the right as you head south), then you've gone too far.
Jun 3, 2003

Some further info on the primary, 165' rappel from this rock: check out Rossiter's topo to find it. Some of the route descriptions here that describe how to get to the rappel can be deceiving; it is actually below the false summit with all the marine life on it, right on the very north edge of the east face. If you go all the way to the true summit you will have to downclimb and return to the rap station.
Sep 14, 2003

Regarding the descent: The rap anchors are 30 feet down and climber's right of the true summit. One can either climb the entire face and downclimb to the anchors, rap from the anchors as you get to them, or downclimb the obvious gully system to the ledge where you can locate the walk off at the north edge of the east face. I advise climbing with two ropes, going to the summit, and downclimbing to the rap anchors. We downclimbed a section of rock on our way to the walk off ledge (not advised) which turned our outing into 5.7X and added an additional 300 feet of 'climbing' - quite the adventure.
Dec 12, 2008

There is an application for a new climb on the south face of Seal Rock, the first application for the autumn 2012 cycle of the Fixed Hardware Review Committee of the Flatirons Climbing Council (www.flatironsclimbing.com). Details can be found at the link below; the public meeting and vote will be held some time early next year, details to be announced. This cycle closes January 1, 2013, though applications should be submitted well in advance. The public meeting and vote will be held 6:30 p.m. Wednesday January 16 at The Spot gym, Boulder, Colorado.

There is an application for a second proposed new climb on the south face of Seal Rock, the final application for the autumn 2012 cycle of the Fixed Hardware Review Committee of the Flatirons Climbing Council (www.flatironsclimbing.com), which closes January 1, 2013. Details can be found at the link below. The public meeting and vote will be held 6:30 p.m. Wednesday January 16 at The Spot gym, Boulder, Colorado.

A bit more info on option #3 for the descent: we had heard several reports of stuck ropes on the primary rap station, so we spent some time looking for this other option. It is exactly as stated here (downclimb W then descend a ramp to the SE), but it's quite the adventure. The downclimb itself is not trivial and is made way worse due to the exposure. Once you're down, you do indeed descend the ramp to the SE but way farther than you might think. The rap eyebolt is hidden a good 40m down the ramp behind a small tree. It has a sign that indicates the direction and distance to ground (130'). There are a few things that could grab your rope on the pull, but FWIW ours pulled just fine. The rap itself isn't terribly exciting, but it gets the job done.

While at the eyebolt, it seemed there may be a quicker and possibly easier downclimb option directly above the eyebolt. I believe this would be on the south side opposite the rap anchors for #2.

Regarding the descent route: there is a rap anchor at the west/southwest end of the summit area, reached by downclimbing from the true summit and walking cross. The downclimbing is at least as challenging as anything on the East Face/North Side route. As of today, the anchor consisted of a good-sized length of what looked like 11 mm rope slung around a huge boulder (4 wraps), and two locking carabiners to put the rap line through. A pair of 60 meter ropes would definitely get you down in one shot, and I wouldn't be surprised if a pair of 50s would. If, like me, you only brought one rope, there is a ledge part way down on which I put a fairly minimalist but adequate anchor (small tree backed up by an even smaller tree, new 1" webbing, one carabiner). A single 60 meter will get you from the top to this ledge, and from this ledge to the ground with lots of rope left over on both raps. A single 50m line would probably get you down these two raps.
Aug 16, 2014

As you may have seen, there is a new trail to access the south side of Seal Rock. From the base of the east face, the new trail goes southeast about 200' and then cuts back up west to the crag. You can't miss the sign. It may take a minute or so longer, but it's far more sustainable, scenic, and pleasant than the former trail. Please dont use the old social trail that went straight up the hillside. A big thanks to OSMP and the volunteers who made this new trail possible!
Nov 29, 2014

There are three new route applications submitted for the August 2015 cycle of the FCC's Fixed Hardware Review Committee application process. They are located on the Box, Seal Rock, and the Third Flatiron.

Please visit the FCC site to review the applications and leave any comments you have. The public vote and meeting is set for 6:30 pm on Sept. 2 (Wednesday) at The Spot in Boulder, Colorado.
Aug 4, 2015

Two applications for adding bolts to existing routes on the south face of Seal Rock have been received by the FCC for the August 1 cycle. The existing routes are Primate (5.13X) and Jade Gate (5.11X). Details of the proposed hardware proposals can be found here on the FCC site: flatironsclimbing.org/curre…

Please feel free to post any comments you have on the applications. The public meeting will be held at the Spot on September 1, 2016 at 6:30, and everyone is also welcome to join and vote there.
Aug 2, 2016

There is a Seal Rock route application submitted for the January 2017 cycle of the FCC's Fixed Hardware Review Committee application process. The proposed route includes two pitches and is on the north face of Seal.

Please visit the FCC site flatironsclimbing.org/curre… to review the application and leave any comments you have. The public vote and meeting is set for 6:30 pm on February 2nd (Thursday) at The Spot in Boulder, Colorado.
Jan 1, 2017

An application for bolting a new route on Seal Rock has been received by the FCC for the May 1 cycle. The proposed route is 12+/13- and is located west (uphill) of I Am The Walrus on the south face of Seal Rock. Details of the proposed route can be found here on the FCC site: flatironsclimbing.org/curre…

Please feel free to post any comments you have on the application. The public meeting will be held at the Spot on Thursday, June 1, 2017 at 6:30, and everyone is welcome to join and vote there.
May 2, 2017

An application for bolting a new route on Seal Rock has been received by the FCC for the Jan 1 cycle. The proposed route is 12c/d and is located just left of the Yellow Door on the north face of Seal Rock. Details of the proposed route can be found here on the FCC site: flatironsclimbing.org/curre… Please feel free to post any comments you have on the application. The public meeting will be held at the Spot on Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 6:30, and everyone is welcome to join and vote there.
Dec 31, 2017

There is a new route application submitted for the January 2019 cycle of the FCC's Fixed Hardware Review Committee application process. The proposed route is on the North Face.

Please visit the FCC site: flatironsclimbing.org/curre… to review the application and leave any comments you have. The public vote and meeting is set for 6:30 pm on January 29th at The Spot in Boulder.
Jan 2, 2019

There is a new route application submitted for the May 2019 cycle of the FCC's Fixed Hardware Review Committee application process. The proposed route is on the South face and is anticipated to be 5.14-.

Please visit the FCC site flatironsclimbing.org to review the application and leave any comments you have. The public vote and meeting is set for 6:30 pm on June 3rd (Monday) at The Spot in Boulder, Colorado.
May 10, 2019
· Temporary Report